The invention relates to a movable banister. More particularly, the invention relates to a device which is held by a person while descending a set of stairs, the device simulates and provides the support normally provided by a banister, but is movable with the person as the stairs are descended.
As people age, they tend to have greater difficulty with mobility. Arthritis and other illnesses slowly deteriorate muscles, bones, and joints, making walking increasingly difficult. Even if walking itself does not present severe difficulty, climbing and descending stairs can make certain trips impossible to take, and certain homes impossible to live in.
In addition to the aged, other people who have suffered injuries or who are victimized by certain debilitating diseases also have severe difficulties with stairs.
Probably the most helpful device for climbing stairs is the fixed banister mounted alongside the staircase. The fixed banister provides the person with reliable, rigid support during their entire trip down the stairs. However, the banister is limited in that it only allows the person to hold on thereto with one hand. Typically, the staircase is too wide to allow the person to simultaneously use banisters on both sides of the staircase. Thus, usually the person holds the banister with one hand, and uses a secondary support device with their other hand.
The most common secondary support device is a cane. The cane is limited in that in order to provide reliable support, it must land upon sure footing every time it is lowered to the ground. In fact, typically as the cane is landing on the ground, the user is simultaneously shifting their weight toward the cane. Thus, when descending the stairs, if the cane misses a step, the user can easily fall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,524 to Bednar discloses an apparatus for aiding people in walking up and down stairs. Bednar is a permanent installation mounted along the entire length of the stairs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,876 to Berner discloses a position adjustable handrail for use along stairways. Berner is permanently installed to a stairway and is either extended to a position where it is shoulder width apart from the fixed banister, or is retracted to a position against the wall opposite the fixed banister. Thus, Bednar and Berner are only suitable for aiding the use of one particular set of stairs where the invention is installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,904 to Wallum is a stair climbing aid which consists of a plurality of individual adjustable size blocks, which create "half-steps" for a person climbing the stairs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,199 to Nimz discloses a stair climbing aid, which is a movable set of steps, which divides the height of each step into several sub-steps. These devices are intended for reducing the amount of vertical height one must transgress with each step. However, these devices do not give the person the needed support while they climb or descend the stairs.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.